CAKE AND COCKHORSE

BANBURY HISTORICAL SOCIETY AUTUMN 1985. PRICE fl.OO VOLUME 10. NUMBER 1 ISSN 0522-0823 Bun6ury Historicuc Society

President: The Lord Saye and Sele

Chairman: D. E. M. Fiennes, Woadmill Farm, Broughton, Banbury. Tel: Banbury 58898

Deputy Chairman: J.S.W. Gibson, Harts Cottage, Church Hanborough, Oxford. OX7 2AB.

Magazine Editor: D.A. Hitchcox, 1 Dorchester Grove, Broughton Road, Banbury. Tel: Banbury 53733 Hon. Secretary: Hon. Treasurer: Mrs Sarah Gosling, A. Essex-Crosby, Banbury Museum, 3 Brantwood Court, 8 Horsefair, Banbury Banbury. (Tel: 59855) (Tel: 56238)

Programme Secretary: Hon. Research Adviser: Miss P. Reuold M.A. F.R.Hist.S. J.S.W. Gibson, 51 Woodstock Close, Harts. Cottage, Oxford OX2 8DD. Church Hanborough, Oxford OX7 2AB. (Tel: Oxford 53937) (Tel: Freeland (0993)882982)

Committee Members: Dr E. Asser, Mrs J.P. Bowes, Mrs N.M. Clifton Mrs C. Jakeman, Dr J.S. Rivers, Miss M. Stanton

Details about the Society’s activities and publications can be found on the inside back cover

Printed by: Overthorpe Printing Company Limited. 20 Thorpe Place, Banbury. cake und Cockfiorse

The Magazine of the Banbury Historical Society. Issued three times a year.

Volume 10 Number 1 Autumn 1985

J.S.W. Gibson The 'Wheatsheaf' and the 'Adam and Eve' 2 in Restoration Banbury

J.P. Bowes How Horley Church Gained its Clock 8

Ted Clark The Banbury Fool 10

Veronica Butt Banbury Theatre and the Jackmans 12

J.S. W. Gibson Aynho and Croughton Inhabitants in 1642 17

P. Renold From the early Banbury Guardian 19

Society's Publications 22

Book Review 24

~~ Winter Programme 24

Volume 10 begins with a pot pourri of articles some of which are submitted by our regular contributors, others are, as it were, making their maiden speeches. I hope the efforts of the latter group will encourage others to put their research and interests on paper and offer them for publication. Our last issue contained a number of changes to our Committee; this edition has but one. Our Chairman, Mr Geoffrey de C. Parmiter, has moved from Banbury after serving on our Committee for more than eight years. Our best wishes go with him. Our new Chairman is long-serving committee member David Fiennes. D.A.H.

Cover illustration: Old Mettle in a Straw Bonnet

1 THE WHEATSHEAF' AND THE 'ADAM AND EVE' IN RESTORATION BANBURY The last surviving Subsidy Roll for Banbury is dated 29th October, 1663, and lists some forty townspeople who together paid €15. 4s. for the borough.' The contribution called for was 8s. in the pound on land or, in the case of valuation of goods, 16s. on €3. Although this was theoretically a tax on income, in fact the sums to be paid had long before become stereotyped and bore no relation to the rent realisable on land owned or the profit on goods. Most of the taxpayers are grouped in pairs, with the implication these might be business partners, though I have not followed this through to any proof. Even in Banbury most were taxed on land, but there were five payments on goods. One of these was by Mr Nathaniel Vivers and Mr John Westmacott. Recently Joyce Hoad has published abstracts of evidence given in some Chancery lawsuits relating to north Oxfordshire, and by coincidence two of those involved were these two men, with some indication of where in the town each lived. It seemed worthwhile gathering together various sources to build up the picture, especially as the location of two Banbury inns can be established with some certainty. The earlier lawsuit is dated 1665, It was brought by Thomas Hunt, of Banbury, esquire, against John Westmacott. The latter is first recorded in Banbury when his son John was baptised in January 1654/?5 and children continued at intervals until 1673. Eleanor wife of Henry Westma- cott was buried in March 1656/7 and Henry himself two years later - maybe they were his parents. In 1661 Westmacott contributed 15s. to the Free and Voluntary Present to King Charles 11. The highest from a townsman was f3, and the majority 10s. or less, so this was reasonably generous and presumably indicates some prosperity at that time. The Chancery case relates to two messuages in Banbury, one Westmacott's own dwelling house, another adjoining it being an inn called the 'Sheafe'. Though the document says this was in the tenure of William Butler, the Hearth Taxes of 1662 and 1665 show John Butler was Westmacott's neighbour - in 1662 each house had six hearths, but by 1665

Butler had lost one and Westrnacott ~o.In the event John Butler re- , mained the innkeeper for many years, as his wife Mary, 'at the Wheat Sheffef was buried in May 1679, and he himself 'at ye Wheat Sheafe' in September 1699. The burials of two strangers from the 'Sheaffe' or 'Wheatshefe' in 1680/1 and 1692/3 show that despite its few hearths it was substantial enough to offer accommodation. The gist of the case was that Thomas Hunt was interested in buying Westmacott's own house to live in, The Sheaf was to be included in the purchase. The two were subject to an indenture made on 5th Decem- ber 16 Charles I1 (1664).6 presumably for a mortgage, which Hunt would

2 purchase for €265. in trust for his heirs. Included in the deal was "one halfe of that yard or backsyd belonging to the house called the Sheafe and the use of the plumpe [sic] therein being and a way by the gate of the Sheafe and in and through the stables of the Sheafe into the Castle Way next there- unto adjoyning together with a liberty of erecting an house of office in the yard of the Sheafe to the proper and several use of T. H. , etc., . . . and J. W. did promise T. H. that he would by 25th March convert the Sheafe into a private house and that he J.W. would inhabit therein." This was an integral part of the agreement, as Hunt "being addicted to a studious life could not brooke the noises of an Inn immediately adjoining to the said house". But now Hunt "had notice that one Wm. Butler then occupyer of the house called the Sheafe being an Innkeeper and using the same as an Inn and house of publick recepton, did claime an interest in the Sheafe for eleven years to come by a. . . lease by J.W. before his contract with T.H. It What was worse, Hunt was being asked to pay half the cost of repairing the pump and paving the communal yard. He had even paid several f31 instalments of rent. The case is further complicated by another contract taken out by Westmacott with one John Crofts, clerk, to buy the house for f265, meanwhile asking Hunt to repair the house. Westmacott's reply, if there was one, does not survive, so of course we only see the case against him. which not surprisingly makes it seem that he had been promising Hunt more than he could deliver. The rights and wrongs of the case are really immaterial - what it does is indicate the location of the Sheaf or Wheatsheaf inn in late seventeenth century Banbury. The Castle Way would have been the main entrance to the recently demolished castle, leading off the centre of the northern side of the market place. The frontage of the inn and the entrance to its yard were probably on the market place, with a rear entrance/exit on to Castle Way - very useful for carters unable to turn their horses and carts in a restricted space. It is not surprising that Thomas Hunt was of studious nature with a desire for quiet, nor that Westmacott was taken to Chancery, for Hunt was a distinguished barrister and member of Gray's Inn. Born in London about 1627, he became a fellow of Queens' College, Cambridge. He had come to Banbury about 1660, where he followed his profession. Four children were born to him between 1664 and 1671. It is puzzling that he does not appear amongst payers of the Hearth Tax of 1662 or 1665 (nor as a contributor to the 1661 Present to the King). What is known of him, however, suggests that Banbury's puritan reputation would have appealed to him. Charles I1 appointed him to be lord-chief-baron of Ireland, but the patent was superseded while he was on his way there, at the instance, it appears, of the Duke of York, to whom he was not acceptable. Anthony Wood records he was "famous in his generation among certain schismatical persons for several things he hath written and publishedt1. These included Great and Weighty Considerations relating to the Duke of York, or

3 Successor to the Crown, &c., considered, in 1680, though it is not clear if this was before or after his loss of office in Ireland. To this loss Wood attributed Hunt becoming "one of the worst and most inveterate enemies of church and state", and other royalists, such as Dryden, wrote against him. Upon the Duke's accession as James 11, Hunt prudently retired to Holland. and afterwards died on his passage thence back to England in company of William of Orange. ' His widow continued to live in the town, where her burial occurs in 1706, "Madam Hunt, wid., out of Sheep Street" - if this was where the family ended up after the abortive Market Place property negotiation, one wonders if it can have been much quieter! Her monumental inscription in Banbury church ('lost with many others on its demolition in 1790) was recorded by the antiquary Richard Rawlinson: "In Sir Robert Dashwood's Chancel1 on a flat black marble - M.S. / Ann Hunt the relict / of Thomas Hunt late / of Gray's Inn, esq., / who died / July ye 29th, / was buryed / Aug. ye 2nd / 1706."* As for John Westmacott, he outlived his opponent by only two years, being buried on 30th April 1690. The other lawsuit, involving Westmacott's 1663 Subsidy partner Nathaniel Vivers, took place twelve years after the first, in 1677. Unlike Westmacott (and Hunt), he came from an old-established Banbury family. He had been born there in 1614, second son of Richerd Vivers, a pros- perous woollen draper who was twice Mayor of Banbury and at his death in September 1643 had just been elected to a third term of office. Nathaniel's elder brother Robert married Ann Hawtaine of Calthorpe, whose family were minor gentry. l0 Robert held a captaincy in the Civil War and achieved dubious fame by being the first to flee (when being charged by Prince Rupert) at the Battle of Edgehill. Of four other brothers, the youngest, Edward, another woollen draper, built the fine three-gabled house in the High Street, and from the 1650s became one of the town's leading Quakers. l2 In 1640 Nathaniel Vivers married Margaret (or Margeq) daughter of Martin and Mary Tustian. They had four children but all appear to have died young, Margaret herself dying in 1665. By his father's will, l3 Nathaniel inherited a close called Neather- durden (which ran down by what is now Hightown Road)I4, and six tenements in the tenurc of the widows Sturkley. Nottingham, and Jordan, and Cuth- bert Browne and Robert Comner, with his mother retaining a third interest, His brother Matthew inherited barns, etc., in Mill Lane and near the Bridge, then in the tenancy of Willian; Hancocke, and in the Beast Market street, in the tenancy of Anthony Daunte, John Bibb, and Richard Steward. barber. After Matthew's death the barns were to go to Nathaniel's son Andrew. Although the burials of neither Matthew nor Andrew have been found in the Banbury registers, it seems likely that this inheritance found its way to Nathaniel. Banbury suffered much in the Civil War, and this is graphically shown in the survey of former Crown property taken in July 1653, which

4 constantly mentions damage and destruction that occurred during the two sieges of the castle. l5 Nathaniel Vivers held the lease for two of these properties. On the south side of the Beast Market he held one tenement of four rooms. in the occupation of Elizabeth Glover, widow. with an annual 'improved' rent of f3. 10s. To the north, there was 'a parccl of ground whereon a barn lately stood, burnt by fire in the late war and now incompassed within the lands of Mr Vivcrs with a stone wall near Mill Lane, which barn did consist of four bays of building with a backside; the

rent belonging to the soil thereof we value to be worth 6s. 8d. ?. These sound very like brother Matthew's legacy. In 1661 Nathaniel Vivers, 'generosus', contributed 10s. towards the Free and Voluntary Present, and the folIowing year paid tax on seven hearths (his more successful brother Edward contributed €2. 10s. and paid tax on ten hearths). l6 'Generosus' should be taken with a pinch of salt - in a 'voluntary' gift all those giving reasonably generously (including John Westmacott) immediately acquired such status! During the Protectorate and the early part of the reign of Charles 11, there was a great shortage of coin, and many tradesmen, for convenience, made their own halfpence. These were small thin pieces of brass or copper. Beesley lists 21, including that of Nathaniel Vivers, with Adam and Eve, the Tree and Serpent on the obverse, and, on the reverse, "IN BANBVRY 1668, HIS HALFE PENYn.17 Milne, the authority on Oxfordshire trade tokens has described this as bearing the Fruiterers' Arms, which I have perpetuated in my list of Restoration taxpayers.'8 ' We now come to the second Chancery case, in 1677.'' From this we learn that Nathaniel Vivers was a mercer, and on 15th June 1676 he had borrowed E170 from Robert West of Gray's Inn, raised on a mortgage on a messuage and appurtenances in Bridge Street, Banbury, called the Adam and Eve, occupied by himself. It included a kiln, malthouse, granary, and messuage built by Nathaniel on a toft of land bought from Robert Scott, William Scott and William Clifton, in the tenure of the ubiquitous Thomas Hunt, Nathaniel Vivers was to repay f175. 2s. in the common dining hall at Gray's Inn by 15th December 1677 or the property would become West's. So much for the Fruiterers' Arms! Clearly the trade token bore the emblem it did because of the name of the house - or inn. The kiln and malthouse are significant. The Adam and Eve occurs later in the parish registers, in 1709 when Thomas Esex was buried from there, whilst two children of Humphrey Dawkes "at ye Adam & Eve House" were baptised in 1710 and 1713. However Dawkes' occupation is recorded as husbandman, so, if an inn, it cannot have been his chief livelihood. The Adam and Eve location is given as Bridge Street. The Beast Market (or Cow Fair) merges into Bridge Street, so the Beast Market property might easlly be described as in Bridge Street; but the waste plot to the north seems more likely, .as at least part of the property had

5 been built by Vivers himself. A second mortgage for f200 had been taken out since, the land being worth f500, although it is alleged in the lawsuit that the building had been allowed "to go to ruin" and was now only worth f250. Vivers countered that if flOO was spent then the house would be worth f400. He was trying to sell it so the mortgage could be repaid, and stated that although so far he "had failed to doe he did not doe so through any wilful1 neglect but through sundry disappointments which he hath suffered from severall persons who had promised to lend him a greater summ than the money due", which the plaintiff well knew. The plaintiff was one Thomas Cox, citizen and chirurgion of London, but neither he nor Robert West of Gray's Inn were as remote from Banbury as they may secm. Robert West had been born in Banbury, only surviving son of James West (d. 1684), three times hlayor of Banbury,20 and the prolific family took a leading part in Banbury affairs. Robert himself had gone to Magdalen College, Oxford, in 1665 and then into the law, being called to the Bar in 1674.'' He had married Thomas Cox's daughter Sarah and his brother-in-law was Sir Charles Cox., brewer, M.P. for Southwark.22 A family on the up and up. West being in need of money, his father-in-law had bought the mortgage from him for f200. The result of the lawsuit, as is usual, Is not recorded, but, again, the outcome is in any case unimportant - it is the incidental information which, allied to other sources, can add to the patchwork or jigsaw puzzle that is the history of Banbury that makes it of interest. One feels sorry for Nathaniel Vivers, asking for another six months to pay. He was aged 63, wife and children all dead, his younger brother Edward, at one time wealthy enough to build one of Banbury's grandest houses, now through his Quaker protests impoverished by fines and confiscations, liable to imprisonment for lengthy periods, and very probably at odds with Nathaniel who had remained in the established church. 23 He had only another four years to live. He was buried on 18th SeptembGr 1681, leaving no will - perhaps he had by then little to leave and no one to leave it to. Neither Nathaniel Vivers nor John Westmacott seem to have been particularly successful in business. whtch is perhaps why they got taken to law. Each of course was dealing with a lawyer to whom it would be a natural recourse. Vivers' and Westmacott's misfortunes have themselves created their own small memorials. J.S.W. Gibson

Nathaniel Vivers Token

6 References Note. Baptisns, marriages and burials come from the published Banbury par1s:l registers, Banbury Historical Society. vols. 2. 7, 9. 16, 18.

1. Public Record Office. E.179/164/507, published in Cake 4 Cockhorse, 9, 5, 'Taxpayers in Restoration Banbury'. 2. The Oifordshir'e Family Historian, 3, 3. 5, b (Autumn 1983 - Autumn 1984). 3. P.R.O. C.5/613/60, published in OFH, 3, 6, pp.211-12. 4. CKH. 9, 5. p.185. 5. ibid., p.179; Hearth Tax Returns, Oxfordshire, 1665. ed. M.M.B. Weinstock, Oxfordshire Record Soclety, vo1.21, 1940. p.156; and P.R.O. E.179/255/4 (1662). 6. The date given in OFH is incorrect. 7. The History of Banbury, by Alfred Becsley. 1841. p.486. 8. Bodleian Library. Rawl. MS. B.420b. This volume contains noLcs on Banbury Church by E. Ashmole, but with certain inscriptlons from monumcnts in the church added in the handwriting of Dr Rawlinson. They are printed iri a rare 8pp. icaflet, probably for Beeslcy, though the addltional inscriptions do not appear in hls book, nor, unfortunately, in B.H.S. 9, Appendix B. 9. Banbury Corporation Records: Tudor and Stuart, B.H.S. 15, p.324. 10. 'A Disputed Inherita:lce', C&CIl, 6, 5, p.84. 1:. Edgehill 1642. by Peter Young, Roundwood Press, 1967. 11.319. 12. Victoria County History, 10, Banbury Hundred, p.32. 13. Will of Richard Vivcrs, dated 15 August 1642, proved ln P.C.C. 6 Dec 1644, ref. 19 Rivers. 14. A History of Ranbury. 2nd edn., by William Potts and Ted Clark, Gulliver Press, 1978. p.85. 15. Banbury Corporation Records. pp.192-93. 16. C&CII'. 9, 5, p.184.' 17. Beesley, p.478. 18. A Catalogice of Oxfordshire Seventeenth Century Trade Tokens, ed. J.G. Milnc. Ashnolean Museum, O.U.P., 1935, p.3. 19. P.R.O. C.S/466/61, published in OFH. 3, 3, p.87. The date given in OF11 for the loan is incorrect. 20. Banbury Corporr!.ion Records. pp.326-27. 21. Roberts-West pedigree, 111 Howard's Visitation of England and Wales, 6, 1898. pp .54-56. 22. I have annotated my offprint of the prinLed pedigree with this marriage and relationship, but cannot now recall t,he source. Even Homer n3ds' 23. 'The Origins of Quakerism In Banbury'. by Barrie Trindcr. C&CH. 7, 9, pp.265-67.

7 HOW HORLEY CHURCH GAINED ITS CLOCK Many Parish Church Registers are now deposited at County Hall Records Office, Oxford. Some of these were transcribed by Mrs Nan Clifton in Shenington. These transcriptions of births, deaths and marriages also provide short anecdotes and notes. The following is an extract from Horley Parish Church Register for Baptisms and Burials 1801-1912. It is a record of the difficulties facing a Parish Priest in the mid 19th century. Written by Wm. James Pinwell, Vicar of Horley and Hornton 1848 to 1878. "tn the summer of 1850 when examining the interior of the beautiful Church of Cropredy, I discovered a supernumerary clock which had been thrown aside by that parish, on the purchase of a more modern one. It struck me that it would be a very useful and desirable thing for Horley. I then applied to J. Loveday Esq. of Wilscote in Cropredy to endeavour to obtain it for me by purchase - this he did - and I purchased it accordingly - I then mentioned it to my neighbour Mr Hitchcock and he agreed to pay half the expense of the purchase and also to lend his cart for it, these promises being fulfilled. We then consulted about the necess- ary repairs before mentioning the matter in Vestry. I enquired at Banbury. a few days after, of two watchmakers and found the repairs would be, without additions or case, from 15 to 20 pounds. Thinking that the Parish w.d. object to that amount, I applied to a man of Hornton, a self-instructed Clock Maker (C. Webb). There was origlnally no dial to the clock when at Cropredy. We thought one absolutely necessary, and another, to be seen from the School, desirable. Webb's estimate amounted to only five pounds ten shillings. I produced the estimate at the next Vestry and after some conversation between Mr Hitchcock (Clergy- man's Churchwarden) Mr Gardner (Parish Warden) Mr Hall, Tenant of Miss Stuarts Farm and Mr Goodman, who rented the Vicarage Farm, these parties composing with the Curate-the Vestry, The entry of the estimate was made in the Parish Book and I understood I was to proceed - on the faith of this I did so and they were to proceed and they were aware of it. And then I mentioned other matters absolutely necessary to Mr Hitchcock. as the dial times, the making the Holes in the tower, putting the Dials etc (the drawing Gilding and Painting I did myself) he agreed as to the propriety of these things and said he had no doubt as being proper they would be allowed, When all was complete we brought the matter before the Vestry - they refused to pay anything. After much talk Mr Hall seconded Mr Hitchcocks liberal offer of Five pounds, by an offer of one pound, Mr Gardner did the same - the rest present and absent, as Mr Hirons, would give nothing. I wrote to Sir John Cope and he gave an order to his attorney for two guineas - Miss Stuart - of the Manor - gave 10/- and her brother, who has no property here, one pound. The cost of all will have been twenty pounds, another such would cost the parish sixty or seventy at least. - and so I was left in the lurch to pay the rest how I could." J.P. Bowes

Horley Church without a clock. Note the Sundial. From Beesley's original manuscript.

9 THE BANBURY 'FOOL' WHO GOT NAMED IN ITS HISTORY In recent Parliamentary elections and by-elections proceedings have been enlivened for an electorate by the intervention of the 'Monster Raving Loony' Party and its representative Lord Such. One such interven- tion in recent memory was at Stratford-upon-Avon. Although this may sccm a modern phenomenon it really is not new for 160 years ago Banbury had such a personality in the person of William Castlc, commonly and widely known as 'Old Mettle'. He just manages to creep into the histories of Banbury. Alfred Beesley's history makes no mention of him and he was criticised for this at the time. William Potts and myself in "A History of Banbury", for reasons of space, could only make a passing reference to him although a representation of him in cap and gown was included. The reference was in connection with the riotous elections of 1819 and 1820. On the latter occasion, because the sitting member of Parliament said he was unablc to finance the usual demonstra- tion and could not provide free beer for the inhabitants, the majority of whom had no votes, they paraded Old Mettle as their elected member to the Town Hall where, in fact, the council was engaged in electing the Hon Heneage Legge. The mob surrounded the Town Hall, then in the Market Placc, and became riotous. The council offered beer and two men appeared with a barrel of it which, however, was poured down the drain. The pebbles which paved the Market Place were torn up and every window of the hall was broken. What happened after was almost pure farce for the Vicar fell through the lath and plaster of the little mom below the clock and landed astride a beam beneath; iMr Walford, the Town Clerk, was struck by a brick and a banker who resembled the Hon Heneage Legge was chased into the High Street by error and found refuge in his bank. Although this was probably the most notable of OldMettle's appearances, it was certainly not an isolated incident. He died on June 2nd 1841. some twenty years after the election in which he took such a con- spicuous part. His contemporaries on "The Guardian", the forerunner of "The Banbury Guardian", reported his sudden passing at the age of 50. They recorded that on the previous evening to his death he had, in the vocation of a fool, accompanied a party of Morris Dancers round Banbury and seemed in high glee. The following morning, while mending his patchwork dress, intending to go to the Club event at Adderbury, he fell off his seat and died instantly. They continued: We Believe he was a native of Adderbury, at which place, until recently, his mother lived. When she died he succeeded in getting, from one quarter or another, a decent suit of black, and a white shirt, and we recollect seeing him on the following Sunday, returning from Church, for the first time dressed like other people. He was fond of obtaining any grotesque piece of apparel - some- times a cocked hat; sometimes a trencher cap and college gown; and

10 sometimes a lady's curls, surmounted by a straw bonnet and flowers, adorned his face. His ostensible mode of gaining a livelihood was by selling matches, but we believe he relied more upon the clearing of the pantries of those who were inclined to befriend him, than upon his own exertions. An accident, which happened to him in early life, had injured his legs so much as to render him incapable of hard labour - to which he never professed any very strong attachment. Once, when told he was a fool, he replied, that there was always a fool in every family, but it was his brother and not he who was the fool of his - for his brother went to work! At a former period he was a remarkably popular figure at Borough Elections, and has sometimes been sent for from a considerable distance on those occasions. No candidate was, at those times, suffered to be chaired, except in company with Mr Mettle, with which honor the said candidates, of course, expressed themselves to be most exceedingly gratified! He was a parishioner of Neithrop in which place he gained a settlement by sleepiFg in an old boat, moored by the side of the canal: many amusing circumstances were related at a trial, when Neithrop was saddled with the charge of him. About twenty years since he was tried, in company with others, at Oxford, for a burglary at Neithrop and sentenced to die but was pardoned on the petition of a number of persons who had long known him and who believed he had been the dupe of designing men. There was one striking difference between Mettle and the rest of the world; he, through life, while possessed of ordinary wits, professed to be a fool; -while a large portion of mankind, professing to be wise, are much greater fools than he was. So wrote "The Guardian" 140 years ago. Since then there have been few unusual characters and none locally who have madc a mark at elections. Prior to the Second World War the most eccentric character was Theodore Lamb who for nearly forty years lived as a hermit in a crudely constructed shack beside the Banbury to Shipston road at Sibford. He lived frugally and wore sackcloth. He maintained himself by repairing clocks and watches for which he had been trained. He rode a bicycle without rubber tyres and drew a trolley at the back filled with pots and pans. He died from pneumonia at the age of 70. Ted Clark

11 BANBURY THEATRE AND THE JACKMANS The early years of the theatre in Banbury are very vague and although there are references to travelling theatre companies performing new pieces in 1768-80' including "School for Scandal R, there is no evidence of a proper theatre apart from a barn behind the west side of Horse Fair where it is said strolling players performed. The earliest known theatre building is one in Butchers Shambles now known as Butchers Row. This was called the Davenport Theatre. George Herbert3 describes the theatre thus: "Now over the Shambles was the Theatre and Mr. Jackman was the proprietor. They had this for some years, but the Shambles, not answering the purpose for which they were intended, they were turned into shops as you see them now. There being no place for a theatre, Mr. James Hill built one in Church Lane". This marks the beginning of the Church Lane Theatre, the date of building is unsure as references at this time speak of the "Banbury TheatreRand could refer to the theatre in Butchers Row, evidence from playbills places the construction somewhere between 1798 and 1832. George Herbert3 describes Mr, James Hill as follows: "He carried on several businesses on the same premises in Parsons Street, those of currier and leather cutter and hatter, He was a great Patron of theatricals and one of his old friends was Charles Dibdin, the well-known dramatist musician, actor and songwriter". Herbert goes on to describe this new theatre in Church Lane and introduces Mr. Jackman who was responsible for the success of the theatre. "The theatre was under the management of Mr. Jackman, and was in the upper storey of the building with a shop underneath, but they found that the stage was not long enough for the actors. They, therefore, ran a part out at the back in what used to be called the softwater pumpyard. Jackman conducted the Theatre as long as it remained a theatre, and the shop underneath was kept by a Mr. Fred Hart who was a Furniture dealer". The Church Lane theatre was built of brick with boxes, a gallery and a pit and could hold an audience of 200-300. There is now little visual evidence of the theatre's existence. Signs of blocked up windows are visible on the Church Lane facade showing the changes in the buildings use. On inspec- tion it was found that in the roof space there are the remains of a very ornate domed ceiling, its centre piece is of stucco leaves bordered by a continuous leaved branch coloured in blue and gold. There is also evidence of painted laurel wreaths upon the ceiling, the other main detail in the design was a sequence of blue squares making borders around the ceiling. The Banbury Guardian in 1953 published an article and photo- graphs showing the remains of the gallery with chairs still in place and a

12 little of the ceiling. Two earlier pictures in the Banbury Reference Library show the Gallery with carved wooden panelling which was missing in the 1953 photographs. The Banbury Guardian article says: "There is little of the original fittings left, but oddly enough, the Gallery, which is supported by two iron bars about two inches in diameter, still stands erect unaffected by the passage of time". There is now no evidence of the Gallery remaining, after the interior was gutted and rebuilt in 1959. The deeds of the property are now owned by Sterling Estates Limited of London. These Deeds contained some information of the former owners, and a description of the building, the earliest deed was dated 1892. The description of the property remained the same from 1892 to the most recent transaction with only the Vendors and Purchasers names changing. This description probably dates from just after the Theatre closed in 1863 as it refers to the "Old Theatre", the entrance being in Butchers Row. It would appear that the 1st floor theatre entrance was from Butchers Row and that the ground floor shop was entered from Church Lane. The dimensions given are 27' and a depth of 35' Itor thereabouts". The previous owners names are Edward Albert Ashton Bagley, Percy Parslow Parsons, Sydney John Field and Fred Rawlings. The occupants are named as Messrs Walford & Sons, Richard Henry Myall and Harry Boxold. Rushers Banbury Directory gives the Theatre's address as 10 Church Lane in its editions from 1856 to 1863, the date of its closure. The study of the Jackman Family is made possible by a book wril- ten by Lou Warwick entitled "Theatre Unroyaltt. Lou Warwick found 72 sacks full of documents and correspondence in the attic of a firm of Northampton Solicitors, dating back to the 1800s. Amongst these papers were letters from Henry Jackman and other members of his company, while on tour at some of the two dozen theatres the Jackman Company visited. From these letters, Mr. Warwick compiled the following list of places the Jackmans visited during their fifty years as a touring Company. Abingdon, Aylesbury, Banbury, Barnet, Bedford, Bicester, Buckingham, Daventry, Evesham, High Gate, Leamington Spa, Leighton Buzzard, Ludlow, Market Harborough, Newport Pagnell, Northampton, Reading, St. Albans, Stoney Stratford, Stratford- on-Avon, Uxbridge, Wallingford, Warwick, Wellingborough, Woburn and Woodstock. The Company was very much a family affair, as members of the family reached the age of six or seven they would begin to take parts. Henry Jackman or "Old Henry" as he was known, had three sons and six daughters, five of whose husbands were also actors. When one looks at the playbills, it is possible to see the family connections with the names of Jackman, Partleton, Hartley, Morgan, Fenton and Steer all belonging to the one family. From Lou Warwick's information it would appear that Henry BANBURY.

A Jackman Playbill (Banbury Reference Library)

14 Jackman was born in London in 1786 and married a woman named Frances, their eldest daughter, Elizabeth was born before 1809, Henry Junior was born at Barking in 1812, Caroline was born at Romford in 1809-10, Sophia was born at Stoney Stratford in 1815-16, Charles was born at Ampthill in 1819, Harriet was born in London 1825-26, Louisa was born at Luton 1826- 27. There were also two other children named Frances and George, Eliza Jackman married John Henry (Harry) Fenton, Caroline married Henry Hartley, Frances married George Partleton, Harriet married F. Morgan, Louisa married E. Steer. As can be seen from the variety of birthplaces, the Jackmans were born wherever they happened to be on tour. It is clear from the playbills that the Company came to Banbury for two to three months at the beginning of each year, before going on to tour other theatres. This is mentioned in the local papers which report on the season starting in January and finishing in February or March. The Company had appeared in Banbury since at least 1827 and almost certainly earlier. The earliest playbill I could find which mentions the Jackmans is dated 1832. It is also headed "New Theatre Church Lane", thus proving the theatre's existence at this date. Jackman asked for a renewal of support, therefore, inferring previous patronage in Banbury. "Old Henry" died in 1852 at Northampton. At first his eldest son, Henry together with Charles took over the company and the Lessees became Messrs. H & C Jackman. It later became "Jackman and Morgan" as their brother-in-law, Frederick Morgan was taken into partnership. Old Henry's wife, Frances, died in 1857. Her obituary in The Theatrical Observer gives a rare flashback to the earlier days of the Company. "The name of Jackman is familiar to our younger readers and still more known to our advanced subscribers as the manager of a compact and clever theatrical company which visited some forty or more years since, Highgate, Uxbridge, Banbury, Buckingham, etc., etc. Many of which tours are still retained by the present director Mr. Charles Jackman. His late father, an excellent comedian, who preceded him in those and many other places at the time of this decease, one of the two oldest managers surviving. Mr. Jackman bore a remarkable character for probity and gentlemanly bearing and left behind him a truly honourable name. He had a worthy partner and helpmate in the lady whose decease we now record; her endeavours assisted his prosperity, while her life fully tallied with, and enhanced his

own respectability" (From "Theatre Un-Royal If). The Company disintegrated in 1862-3 with the last season playing at Banbury. In January 1863 the rrEraqlnoted a performance of the "Miller and His Men" in which amateurs, workers from the Britannia Ironworks, had appeared to good effect. They went on to say that "Macbeth, Pizaro and The Castle Spectre" had been played to very thin houses. The Banbury Guardian of the 29th January 1863 reported that: "Seeing that Mr. Jackman has now for many years done his best to cater for the amusement of the Banbury public and that this evening in all probability will be the last one on which he will appear before it, we have no doubt, he will be favoured with a crowded audience". The following week's report commented that the benefit for Mr. Jackman had been a decided success, the House being crowded. It also mentioned how the theatre had continued open at reduced prices which again suggests that theatrical activity was running down in Banbury. Charles Jackman died in 1879 and in the Stratford Press's tribute to him we can see how important the Jackmans were in bringing the theatre, not just to Banbury, but all over the Midlands. "During the early part of the last half-century the name of Jackman was inseparably associated with the dramatic art and it is to a branch of the family bearing that name that credit must be given for the popularising of the legitimate drama in the Midland Counties of England. Gifted with histrionic and musical abilities of no common order, the Jackmans for many years identified themselves closely with the theatrical world, and in the different sections of the profession to which they devoted their talents, they earned no mean reputation (Source - "Theatre Un-royal "). Veronica Butt References: 1. The Book of Banbury by Christine Bloxham, Barracuda Book 1975 2. Cake and Cockhorse, Vo1.5. No.8, Page 161 3. A Shoemakers Window by George Herbert, Gulliver Press 1979 Other References: The Theatre Unroyal, Lou Warwick Lou Warwick 1974 The Banbury Guardian The Banbury Herald

16 AYNHO AND CROUGHTON INHABITANTS IN 1642 The Collection for Distressed Protestants in Ireland The Protestation Oath Rolls of 1641-2 provide invaluable lists of most adult males, parish by parish, and those for Oxfordshire have been published by the Oxfordshire Record Society, vo1.36, though sadly those for Banbury are missing. Neighbouring Northamptonshire 1s less Sortunate, as i\orie survive. However, Cliff Webb has recently drawn attention (in The Genealogists' Magazine, vo1.21, no.9) to a near contemporary source with similar lists of names, the Collectiori for Distressed Protest- ants in Ireland (things haven't changed much in nearly 350 years! ). The collection, authorised by Parliament, followed a rebellion on the eve of England's own Civil War. Thousands of Protestant 'planters ' were massacred, thousands more fled to the fortif'ied towns or to England. Those collecting the gifts, churchwardens slid overseers, were also supposed to submit the names of' the donors with the amounts given. Some counties have lists for many parishes. Alas, there are none for Oxfordshire, but just five survive Sor parishes in the southern tip of Northamptonshire. These are for Aynho, Croughtori, Brackley St James, Whitfield (just north of Brackley) and an un-named parish identified as Brackley St Peter. It is hoped to publish all the lists in Footprints, the journal of the Northamptonshire Family History Society, but it seems worth printing those for Aynho atid Croughton, which fall within 'Banburyshire', here as well. Appendix 2 of Nicholas Cooper's Aynho: A Northamptonshire Parish, in our records series, lists 56 householders in 1618; the book itself is thoroughly indexed. In the list below individual names which occar in that index are in bold type (asterisked if in the 1618 list); when the family occurs but the individual is not indexed, just the surname is in bold type. Public Record Office. SP.28/19A(part 1). folio 172.

Ayno 111 the Counti OS Northampton 1642 Male 29. Master John Cartright, €5. Raph Garnar, Ad. Mast. William Drope, 5s. Thomas Sumnar, ls. Giles Sowtham', 3s.Ad. George Cursere [?or Curf'ere], 2d. Thomas Sovtham, 2s. Robert Sharpe, Is. Edvard Jamis*, 3s. John Wellicom, Is. John Britnel [Briknel], ls.6d. William Hallowe, 6d. Edward Willmore, 6d. Marke Garnar' , 2d. Henri Leche, ls.6d. Martin Collins, 6d. 'I'homas Collins, 6d. John Maio, 3d. Edward Hobcr.oft, 6d. Thomas Parkar, 4d. William Coke, Is. John Craklo, 6d. John Baker, 3d. William Deveril, Ad. John White*, 3d. George Golbec, 4d. Robart 4d. mite, the sum €6.15~.[3d.] John Bewely, Consta[ble] . William Bordton [Borton) , Churchward [en] . 17 Folio 1.73. William Borton, Is. Ben Wats, Is. John Bole, 2d. William Tannar, Id. Edward Gaule, 2d. William Warde, 2d. Richard Blabee, 2d. John Bakar, Ud. William Borbero, 2s.6d. Francis Hues, 6d. John Borbero, 1s. Thomas Garnar, 4d. Robert Parrish, 6d. John Hobcroft, 6d. William Undarwod, 6d.

Plenty will be found in the published history about some of those listed. Master John Cartwright was of course Lord of the Manor, son of Richard (d.1637) who had bought the manor in 1616. Master William Drope was the seventh son of the former rector of Aynho, Ttiomas Dropc (d.1633) whose relationship with Cartwright had been so turbulent. He lived in Aynho his whole life, described as 'gentleman'. Others, like Giles Southam, Edward Jarvis and Henry Letch will be Samiliar from the book. Missing is the name of Regi- nald Burdyn, rector at that time. In comparison, the record for Croughton is most disappoint- ing. Despite the requirement to list names of contributors, only the collectors are named. The documeiit (folio 174) reads: "Collected in the behal fe and towards the releife of' his Maieties distressed subjects in the Kingdome and dominion of Ireland in the parrish church of Croughton eighteene shillings ten pence. Josias Bunn, Curate. John Warde, Churchwarden. Roberte Raride [? Raude], Constable. Marke Kirigstoii, Overseer. " Even so, it is iiiteresting to find that Josias Budd was cwate here 111 1642. He had been at Oxford University (M.A. 1623), and was iiitr-udcd as Rector of rieat.by Turweston, just over the Buck- inghamshire border, in 1651, but hitherto his whereabouts between these two dates were uiiknown. Anocher Josias Bum, probably his son, was mar.ried at tlititori in the Hedges in 1672 and became Rector of' Slapton, sout,h-west of' 'Towcestcr, in 16'18. J.S.W. Cibson References In addition to the article in The Genealogists' Magazine, Cliff Webb has cor,,piled a full check-list of all parishes, by county, for which there are lists, available at €1.50 post free direct from him at 8 Heather Close, New Haw, Wrybridge, Surrey. H. I. Longden's Northamptonshire and Rut land Clergy provides inSo;ma- tioIl OII the Bunn and Drope families; see also 'Squire Cartwright and Parson Drope', by Susan Ransom, Cake & Cockhorse, 4, 5 (Autumn 1969). Crowri copyright documents in the Publlc Record Office are reproduced by permission of the Controller, Her Majesty's Stationery Office.

18 From the early BANBURY GUARDIAN The problems of Vagrancy B.G. 22 March 1849. From the Editorial: a paragraph headed "VAGRANCY "We desire to direct the attention of our readers to a letter from Colonel Cartwright, which appears in another column, relative to vagrants. This is a subject which must have latterly pressed itself upon the attention of everyone, for it has been scarcely possible to look out of our door, and utterly impossible to pass the streets, without being assailed by the sturdy or the walking mendicant; in the rural districts the annoyance has not been less. That the evil has increased latterly is very certain, and that this increase has taken place, not cntirely from the failure of employ in this country is cqually certain. It arises in a great degree from the vigilance with which street beggars have been hunted out of London, in the first instance; and thence from county to county, as the inhabitants have bestirred themselves to make a riddance of the pest. The consequence has been that where the matter has been diligently looked to, the evil has abated; and where it has been neglected, it has increased. Colonel Cart- wright intends. at the next Court of Sessions for the County of Northampton, to bring the question of dealing with vagrants bcfore the assembled Magistrates; and has a plan to propose, for the particulars of which we refer to his letter; whether the plan be a feasible one remains to be then decided: if it be successfully carried out, he will have conferred a great local benefit. It has long been notorious, that not 1 in 20 of those who beset our houses and our paths with importunities, are not really destitute persons; they are beggars by birth, by inclination, and by profession; they do not wish to do othenvise, and they can scarcely hope to do better." Same page, next column: "VAGRANCY To the Editor of the Banbury Guardian. Floore House, March 12, 1849. Sir, From the returns which I have received through the courtesy of most of the clerks to the boards of guardians in the county, it appears : that during the year ending the 24th of June, 1848, not less than 20,000 vagrants were relieved by the Unions [Poor Law1 in the County of Northam-

I pton, exclusive of the district of Peterborough. An Act was passed during the last Session of Parliament (11 & 12 Vict.cap. 110) by which it is enacted 'That upon application for rellef by admission to the workhouse of any such

; Union as aforesaid or otherwise, of any poor person professing to be a ' destitute wanderer or wayfarer, the master, porter, or other officer of such workhouse, or the relieving officer of such Union, or overseer of any parish, to whom such application for relief shall be made, may scarch

19 such person, or cause him to be searched, and may take from such person any money which may be found upon him, and should deliver the same to the guardians, to be applied by them in aid of the common fund of the Union; and every Person who shall apply for relief at any workhouse, or to any relieving officer or overseer, having at the time of such application in his possession, and under his immediate control, any money or other Property of which, on enquiry being made by the guardians or their officers, or by overseers, he should not make correct and complete dis- closure, shall be taken to be an idle and disorderly person, within the meaning of the ect of the 5th year of the reign of his late Majesty King George the Fourth, for the punishment of idle and disorderly persons and rogues and vagabonds in England, and shall be punished and dealt wlth In all respects and wlth the like proceedlngs as idle and disorderly persons under the said act'. The provislons of this act may have somewhat checked the applications for relief, but they are often evaded. Several tramps travel together; one of them sleeps at the lodging-house, taklng with him the funds and property belonging to the party, whilst the others apply at the workhouse for relief, and obtain it at the cost of the rate-payer. From the number of vagrants to be met with at almost every turn in every road, I fear they are not only undiminished, but considerably increased; and now that the metropolitan police are, by their exertions, driving those beggars who infest the London streets into the country, we must expect a considerable reinforcement from that quarter. We must all feel that the really distressed and broken down wayfarer deserves sympathy and support; but relief indiscriminately given to those in dlstress, and to those who are tramps by profession, must be most mischievous. The expense of relief given to vagrants acts very unfairly upon different parishes. Some parishes are heavily taxed in paying their share to the common fund of the Union, whilst others, from their local position, alniost entirely escape any payment of the sort. An example of which might be taken from the Northampton Union and the Union adjoining. It is quite clear that unless some more stringent measure be passed relating to vagrants, or some other steps taken by the authorities - overwhelmed as prisons and workhouses now are with this class - their numbers must be multiplied. In the County of Essex a plan has been adopted, very successfully, which I now venture to propose to this county. A certain number of the police force are appointed by the boards of guardians assistant relieving officers, for the purpose of examining and relieving vagrants. Believing that great benefit would be derived by one first-class constable in each Union being appointed from our present number of policemen, without any increase of salary, to examine and superintend the vagrants in the respec- tive Unions, it is my intention to bring the subject under the notice of the Magistrates at the ensuing Court of Quarter Sessions [for Northamptonshire],

20 with a view to obtaining their confirmation of any appointnlent of a police constable as assistant relieving officer that may be made by'any of the boards of guardians in the county, and sanctioned by the Poor Law Commissioners. In some Unions there may appear some difficulty, but none that may not - as it appears to me - be overcome. The Northampton Union being mixed up with several parishes in the county might be included in the arrangement, on the proportion of the police constable's salary being paid by the borough if a county police officer should be employed; and, on the other hand, the proportion should be paid by the county for the county parishes belonging to the Northampton Union, if a borough police constable should be appointed. Similar reciprocal arrangements might be made in the Unions on the borders of the county - as for instance in the Banbury and Brackley Unions. In the former the county paying for the proportion due from the Northamptonshire parishes belonging thereto; and in the latter case, receiving from the Oxfordshire and Buckinghamshire parishes the propor- tion due from them. If such a plan of communication were adopted, and a rigid system of prison discipline enforced in the case of committed vagrants, my firm belief is that the county of Northampton would be rid of one half of the professional tramps in a few weeks, and most of them in as many months. Yours etc. W. Cartwright, Lieutenant Colonel." The number of vagrants at this period may have been increased by discharges from the army after the end of thc Crimean war., but will certainly have been swelled by Irish immigrants driven from their country by the years of famine due to the failure of the potato crops. Many of these had emigrated to the New World, but many remained. The vagrancy problem itself, however, went back to the first half of the 16th century, and the persons envisaged in the many often savage laws against them, were the able-bodied, who often became little better than marauders, and who, for continued want of employment, became and remained nprofessional beggars. The really destitute were viewed with more sympathy, but the means for dealing with them were at most times quite inadequate. Cartwright's strictures against the element of professional beggars but echoes many con- temporary reports, in particular that which led to the permissive Rural Constabulary Act of 1839. Taking advantage of the provisions of this Act the counties of Northampton and Warwick established paid County police forces in 1840, but those of Oxford and Buckingham did not. From 1836 Banbury borough had such a force, and could have taken part in the scheme proposed by Cartwright, but this would have been difficult for other areas adjacent to the Northampton Union. P. Renold.

21 The Banbury Historical Society have produced many publications in its 25 years existence, namely, 20 Records Volumes and 90 editions of Cake and Cockhorse. Added to this there have been a number of offprints on particular subjects. These are listed below. ':Those marked * are avail- able and may be purchased from Banbury Museum, 8 Horsefair, Banbury, 0x16, OAA. BHS 1 Index to Wills proved in the Peculiar Court of Banbury 1542-1858 (published jointly with Oxfordshire Record Society, vol. 40). BHS 2 Banbury Marriage Register, Part 1, 1558-1724. BHS 3 Banbury Marriage Register, Part 2, 1724-1790. BHS 4 Clockmaking in Oxfordshire, by C. F. C. Beeson (published jointly with the Antiquarian Horological Society; 2nd edition published by the Museum of the History of Science, Oxford). BHS 5 Banbury Marriage Register, Part 3, 1790-1837. BHS 6 South Newington Churchwardens' Accounts, 1553-1684. *BHS 7 Banbury Baptism and Burial Registers, 1558-1653. f5.00 + €1.20 P&P. BHS 8 A Victorian M.P. and his Constituents: The Correspondence of H.W. Tancred, ed. B.S. Trinder. BHS 9 Banbury Baptism and Burial Registers, 1653-1723. BHS 10 Shoemaker's Window: Recollections of Banbury before the Rail- way Age, by George Herbert, ed. Christiana C. Cheney with an Introduction by B. S. Trinder . *BHS 11 The Wigginton Constables' Book, 1691-1836, ed. F.D. Price (published by Phillimore, Chichester). f9.95 + 75p p&p. *BHS 12 Parish Accounts for the 'Town' of Bodicote, 1700-1822, ed. J.H. Fearon. €3.00 + 50p p&p. *BHS 13 Banbury Wills and Inventories, Part 1, 1591-1620. E9,OO + El, 00 p&p. *BHS 14 Banbury Wills and Inventories, Part 2, 1621-1650. f6.00 + 50p p&p. BHS 13 and 14 (ordered together) f13.50 + fl.50 p&p. *BHS 15 Banbury Corporation Records: Tudor and Stuart. f7.50 + f1.25 p&p. *BHS 16 Banbury Baptism Registers, 1733-1812. f5.00 + 50p p&p. BHS 17 (Index to) Administrations and Inventories of the Archdeaconry of Northampton, 1711-1800 (published jointly with the British Record Society, vol. 92). *BHS 18 Banbury Burial Registers, 1723-1812. f5.00 + 50p p&p. qHS19 Victorian Banbury, by Barrie Trinder (published by Phillimore, Chichester). fll. 95 + El. 50 P&P. *BHS 20 Aynho: A Northamptonshire Village, by Nicholas Cooper (published jointly with the Leopard's Head Press). f9.75 + fl.25 p&p.

22 Also available: Offprints: Banbury Castle. 50p + 25p p&p. 'New Light on Banbury Crosses'. 50p + 25p p&p. 'The Building and Furnishing of St. Mary's Church, Banbury' 50p + 25p p&p. Banbury and Shutford Plush, by Vera Hodgkins and Christine Bloxham. El. 00 + 25p p&p. Old Banbury: A popular history, by E.R.C. Brinkworth. 30p + 20p p&p. Individual issues, volumes or complete sets of back numbers of the Society's magazine Cake and Cockhorse are also available. Photocopies will be supplied of out of print issues. Please enquire for prices.

Old Mett1e:The Banbury Fool

23 BOOK REVIEW A Brief History of Middleton Cheney. Northamptonshire, with Childhood Memories. by Leonard W. Jerrams. 128 pages. Available from the author. 'Celanlea'. Queens Street, Middleton Cheney. Banbury, Oxon. Price F5.00 Middleton Cheney is a large village to the east of Banbury and this book by Len Jerrams traces its history from Norman times to date. It starts with a brief description of the parish and its early history. There then follows detailed information of the various clubs and societies, and the personalities involved in them, mainly from the middle of the nineteenth century. The most interesting part of the book is a 'George Herbert' type perambulation of the parish of Middleton, with a house by house itinerary and pen pictures of the people who lived in them. This is not a definitive history of Middleton Cheney, but the information it contains will be invaluable to future historians. D.A.H.

Fifty Years of Service The Rotary Club of Bank9has recently celebrated its 50th Anniversary. As part of its Golden Jubilee programme it has published the story of the years 1935 to 1985, with the title "Fifty Years of Service". Printed in Banbury by Honey Press Limited, it contains some 140 pages of narrative including, in addition to details of many of the community projects which have been undertaken in that time and its inter- national activities, sections dealing with its associated bodies such as Inner Wheel and Rotaract. There is also a section of illustrations of some of those activities. The price is f10 per copy, which may be obtained from the Secretary of the Rotary Club, at Masonic Hall, Marlborough Road, Banb'ury.

BANBURY HISTORICAL SOCIETY WINTER PROGRAMME Thursday, 12th December Thursday, 9th January Dr Edwards Nick Allen Some Magical Aspects of Stonehenge the Pyramids Thursday, 13th February Thursday, 13th March Professor Hill Dr Young Abiezer Coppe and Hook Norton Roman Pottery of the Oxford Region All meetings to be held in the North Oxfordshire Technical College, Broughton Road, at 7.30 pm.

24 The Banbury Historical Society was founded in 1957 to encourage interest in the history of the town of Banbury and neighbouring parts of Oxfordshire, Northamptonshire and Warwickshire. The Magazine Cake and Cockhorse is issued to members three times a year. 'This includes illustrated articles based on original local historical research, as well as recording the Society's activities. By 1985 there had been 88 issues and at least 230 articles. Most back issues are still available and out-of-print issues can if required be photocopied. Other publications still in print include: Booklets - Old Banbury - a short popular history, E.R.C. Brinkworth New Light of Banbury's Crosses, P.D.A. Harvey Banbury Castle - a summary of excavations in 1972, P. Fasham The Building and Furnishing of St Mary's Church, Banbury, N. Cooper Pamphlets - History of Banbury Cross The Globe Room at the Reindeer Inn, Banbury The Society has also published twenty or more volumes in its records series (list available of those still in print). These have included Banbury Parish Registers (in seven parts: Marriages 1558-1837, Baptisms and Burials 1558-1812); Banbury Corporation Records: Tudor and Stuart; Banbury Wills and Inven- Lories (1621-1650 published; 1591-1620 for publication 1985); A Victorian M.P. and his Constituents: The Correspondence of H. W. Tancred 1841-1860; Shoemaker's Window: Recollections of Bunhury before the Railway Age, by George Herbert (now available in Gulliver Press edition); South Newington Churchwardens' Accounts 1553-1 684; Wiyginton Constables ' Books 1691-1836; Bodicote Parish Accounts 1700-1822; Victorian Banbury, by Barrie 'I'rinder (with Phillimore) ; and Aynho: A Northamptonshire Parish, by Nicholas Cooper (with Leopard's Head Press). Volumes in preparation include Banbury Gaol Records 1805-1852, edited by Penelope Renold, and Baptisms and Burials 1813-1838. An edition of letters to the 1st Earl of Guilford (of Wroxton, father of Lord North, Prime Minister and M.P. for Banbury) is also planned. Meetings are held during the autumn and winter, normally at 7.30 pm at the North Oxfordshire Technical College, Brougk.ton Road, Banbury, on the second 'Thursday of each month. Talks are given by invited lecturers on general and local archaeological, historical and architectural subjects. In the summer, the AGM is held at a local country house and other visits are arranged. Membership of the Society is open to all, no proposer or seconder- being- needed. 'The annual subscription is f8.00 including any records volumes publrshed, or f5.00 if these are excluded. Application forms can be obtained from the Hon. Membership Secretary, c/o Banbury Museum, 8 Horsefair, Banbury, Oxon.